Two patent applications filed by Disney may offer clues
As the highly anticipated D23 kicks off later this week, excitement among Disney enthusiasts is high. Fans are eagerly speculating about potential announcements regarding the future of Disney’s theme parks, from new attractions to major park expansions.
Disney will also hopefully give updates on previously announced projects, like Test Track 3.0, which was first announced at last year’s D23. Although Test Track closed earlier this summer, little is currently known other than the concept art that was the released and the general idea that the reimagining will take inspiration for the World of Motion.
Is it possible that more details regarding Test Track 3.0 have been publicly disclosed but the connection with Test Track 3.0 has not been made yet?
They may have.
Before I go on, I think I should first explain a little more about myself. I am a patent attorney and have been fascinated by Disney most of my life. Heck, my husband and I got married at Walt Disney World and had our reception on the Italy Isola in Epcot, which was absolutely magical in true Disney fashion.
You are probably wondering why I am sharing this right now and what this has to do with Test Track. You see, the nerd in me will occasionally read patent applications filed by Disney Enterprises (the subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company that own’s Disney’s intellectual property) out of pure curiosity.
It was this curiosity that led me to two patent applications that I believe could be related to Test Track 3.0.
Disney Enterprises filed two patent applications (US 2023/0302372 A1 and US 2023/0302374 A1) on March 24, 2022 that are likely part of the same project as both list the same three inventors.
At first, this date seems irrelevant. However, companies well steeped in the patenting process would appreciate that most patent applications will become publicly available eighteen months after the patent application is filed. In this case, September 2023.
Do you know what else occurred in September 2023?
That’s right!
Disney announced that Test Track would be reimagined. Was this a coincidence? I don’t think it was. Disney is too sophisticated and strategically minded for something like this to have occurred randomly.
I have seen some commentary online about these two patent applications, but all take Disney at face value and believe that Disney could be developing some type of entertainment systems for electric car charging aspects. Reading between the lines, however, there may be more than meets the eye.
US 2023/0302374 A1 describes entertainment systems that are used in a vehicle. The vehicle 104 is driven into an enclosure where “an immersive environment” can be created for guests inside the vehicle 104.
Once inside the enclosure, the vehicle can be physically moved or jostled by a platform or base 110, and images can be projected on internal surfaces of the enclosure to provide the immersive environment to anyone in the vehicle.
Control elements within the vehicle, such as a steering wheel, brake pedal, or gas pedal, can be used to interact with or change the display. For example, the animals could move appropriately if the steering wheel is moved to the right or left.
By itself, it would be interesting to get an amusement-like ride experience while waiting for your electric vehicle to charge. But would users be willing to pay for such a service? I am not sure that they would or at least enough of them to make it commercially viable, especially after DisneyQuest’s failure to launch.
When I first read the ’374 patent application, it immediately reminded me of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and how the ride vehicles go into the individual areas with the projection screens.
While the vehicle is introduced and shown as a traditional passenger vehicle, the ’374 patent application expands what it defines as a “vehicle” to include autonomous, semi-autonomous, electric, combustion, and/or hybrid vehicles. In other words, any type of vehicle, which would include trackless ride systems like Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
This made me wonder if there are other clues in the ’374 patent application that could support it being used in a theme park.
There are!
The ’374 patent application describes how there may be multiple vehicles 104 concurrently experiencing similar content, possibly in ways that make it seem like they are interacting with one another. The example given in the ’374 patent application for this is a virtual car race where the content 134 shows the vehicles passing one another.
The ’374 patent application also discloses disguising the charging device 106 as a themed prop, such as an elephant or an animatronic character.
This is actually very smart and could allow an electric ride vehicle to be periodically recharged throughout the day without negatively impacting the user experience.
The second patent application, US 2023/0302372 A1, provides additional information on what a system implementing the technologies would look like.
The ’372 patent application discloses a ride-like system where the vehicles 102 are moved along a track with projector assemblies.
There can be texture features 122 along the track that provide a rumble effect, reminiscent of the uneven payment section in Test Track 2.0.
Consistent with the ’374 patent application, the ’372 patent application discloses that controls inside the vehicle 102 can affect what is projected onto display areas 124, 126, 128. For example, moving the steering wheel to “drive” the vehicle away from the tornado could change how the tornado and the road appear.
The ’372 patent application goes a step further than the first patent application and discloses that the experience can be customized using RFID wearable devices worn by someone in the vehicle or a mobile application. There are no specific examples of this, and Magic Bands and My Disney Experience are not mentioned by name. But the ’372 patent application is clearly describing building blocks that Disney already has in place in its theme parks.
Still not convinced that these patent applications may be intended for Test Track 3.0?
At least one of the inventors of these patent applications also worked on the retheming of Splash Mountain.
And, I was not able to find any international applications related to these patent applications. While it is possible that an international patent application is still awaiting publication, international patent applications would have needed to have been filed by March 24, 2023, and the USPTO’s Patent Center does not show a PCT application having been filed for the ’372 and ’374 patent applications.
So all indications are that Disney is only seeking patent protection in the United States. This would make complete sense if the technologies in these patent applications are intended for Test Track 3.0.
It has also crossed my mind that at least parts of these patent applications could be implemented in Disneyland’s Autopia as it has been confirmed that Autopia’s ride vehicles will be going electric in the future. But I think Test Track makes more sense based on the current versions of both rides, but only time will tell.
Maybe I’m entirely wrong, and Disney is working on electric car charging entertainment system. And that’s fine. But until we know for sure, it’s fun to dream and imagine the possibilities that Disney may be working on.
Make sure to follow me as I dissect Disney’s patent filings from the viewpoint of a Disney fan having a deep understanding of the patenting process.
Disclaimer: The article is based on my opinions, experiences, and publicly available information. I do not represent Disney in any capacity and have no inside knowledge.